Negotiating an agentive identity in a British lifestyle migration context

A narrative positioning analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID3654675
AuthorsMichelle Lawson (0000-0003-4401-2241, Open University United Kingdom, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume21
Issue5
Pages650-671
Publication date2017-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Sociolinguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-6441 • E-ISSN: 1467-9841
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/josl.12247
OpenAlexW2770240534
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited23

This paper presents an analysis of agency and positioning in a context of British migration in the Ariègedépartementof south-west France. A narrative positioning framework is used to explore the relationship between local discursive positioning and broader social obligations, specifically by integrating data from an online forum for British residents with an interview carried out with two forum users. Although there is thematic coherence across the datasets, particularly in relation to the social obligation to be the 'right kind' of migrant, the two speakers in the joint interview represent their actions using conflicting approaches. The analysis of agentive positioning shows the strategic use of both agentive and inagentive language where the narrated actions did not align with those of the 'right kind' of migrant constructed by forum members. The study shows how attempts at positive self-representation can reflect awareness of the ideological context but can nevertheless be interpreted in very different ways. The paper concludes that we should not restrict ourselves to seeking recurrent and stable patterns when exploring indexical links between micro contexts and wider social reality, particularly when the interactional context is overshadowed by a broader moral landscape

Aesthetics · Agency (philosophy · Context (archaeology · Identity (music · Identity negotiation · Ideology · Indexicality · Linguistics · Media studies · Narrative · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · French Urban and Social Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Migration, Identity, and Health · Psychology · Social Psychology

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